The beginning of the end of traditional politics in India

Monday, December 9th, 2013 @ 9:40PM

Lok Satta Party takes pride in congratulating the Aam Aadmi Party on a compelling debut in the Delhi elections.

It is a resounding victory for good politics in India, the first step of which was taken earlier in the 2009 Assembly Elections in Andhra Pradesh by Lok Satta. The second step, now in Delhi by AAP bore fruit well before polling day through the unusual choice of Harsh Vardhan as the Chief Ministerial candidate by the traditional BJP camp.

Good politics has raised the bar on what is the acceptable minimum in this election.

The vision for 21st century politics that Lok Satta has conceived, espoused and unwaveringly practiced, is now in some measure showcased by AAP in the Delhi elections. They crafted their campaign, candidates selections and fund raising practices on the back of the Electoral Reforms that Lok Satta pioneered and delivered to India, be it the declaration of candidate assets, tax deductible political donations, sanitizing voter rolls etc.

This is first and foremost a people’s victory. We salute the people of Delhi for coming out to vote en masse and providing a clear mandate for departure from corruption and nepotism.

We wish AAP all the very best in transitioning from contesting elections to driving good governance in Delhi. Lok Satta has long been able to bat several notches above our league with just one MLA in the State of Andhra Pradesh and yet drive seminal changes to public policy, constitutional amendments, and bureaucratic reforms. These outcomes are a reflection of Lok Satta’s unflinching commitment to putting India first and approaching all problem solving with maturity, expertise, influence, negotiation and convergence for the greater good while staunchly refusing to paint the other as evil with a broad brush.

We must never indulge in parochial or divisive politics, or pander to short populism at the cost of long term public good.

The fashioning of a genuinely modern democracy is a long and arduous one that takes many teams and many players working in concert. We are joyous to see a party like AAP enter the fray, applaud their courage, efforts and results, and invite many more parties to walk with us down this path.

Clean politics has taken seed in urban India, as is evidenced by our own experience in Hyderabad and the Delhi results.

This will raise the bar in politics to transform slowly but surely, even the traditional dynastic parties into healthy, vibrant institutions that reflect the plurality and potential of the Indian politic. And as it spreads from urban to rural India across the next decade, it has the power to reshape India’s destiny.